In earlier works, the authors observed that the template stiffness played a role in the success of the demolding step in nanoimprint lithography. They established that the release force increases with the template stiffness whereas the induced stress in the resist follows an opposite trend, decreasing with an increase in the template stiffness. However, the results obtained were quantitatively inconsistent with the experimental results; therefore, the authors set up a new simulation model in order to obtain realistic values. They successfully demonstrated that the bending of the template, depending on its stiffness, is a key factor to be optimized in order to reduce the defect formation during the process.

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